


I'll Make This Feel Like Home

by TheQuietQuill



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War I, Angst, Blood, Fluff, Guns, Lilo Paylinson - Freeform, Lots of cuddles, M/M, War, World War I, lilo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5134715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQuietQuill/pseuds/TheQuietQuill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We’ll make it out of here, I promise. And we can meet again and again and again in whatever circumstance you want. As long as I have you Lou, I’m good. As long as I get to call you mine, I’ll die a happy man.” </p><p>Louis frowned and his hands smoothed out the front of Liam’s uniform, “Don’t talk about death.” </p><p>“It’s hard not to when it’s all around us.” </p><p>“Still, don’t talk about it.” </p><p>“Okay.” </p><p>(Or: Louis and Liam meet while at boot camp during WWI and never left each other’s side until they had to.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Make This Feel Like Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!!! So, I wrote this for my main tumblr (lilowhispers)! I rebloged an ask thingy where people sent me a ship and one a request for a short fanfic. A lovely anon requested a Lilo fanfic and "things you said with no space between us." Well, I came up with this and there is a TON of cuddly Lilo moments. I might write a second part to this, if y'all liked it...  
> Anyway, please read and enjoy! :)

_Germany, 1917._

Louis just wanted some fresh air.

His stomach was full on the tinned beans and stale crackers. God, how he hated beans and crackers-that’s all his unit has had to eat for months. His throat was still dry, still hoarse from hours amidst the trenches. His fingers still had gun powder on them and he could still smell the dirt of the trenches. They were awful and Louis never wanted to go back in the trenches.

But he knew was gonna be there by dawn the next day.

Louis sat outside his tent and pulled out one of his cigarettes from his packet. He didn’t smoke before the war, but fuck the first day of boot camp nearly tore him apart and since then, he smoked if he had the cigarettes. Louis lit up the cigarette and inhaled deeply and suddenly the taste of war on his lips was gone.

The flaps of the tent opened up once more. Louis knew it was Liam walking towards the post where Louis was resting his back on. Months in boot camp together and a year at war together, side by side, Payno and Tommo. Louis knew the sounds Liam Payne’s feet made.

Liam plopped down on the ground next to Louis. Louis blew out the smoke in his lungs and quickly checked to see if any one from their unit was around. When he saw no one, he dropped his head onto Liam’s broad shoulder and sighed. Liam brushed his lips against Louis’ scalp and links their fingers together in his lap.

“I wanna go home,” Louis stated softly. He said something to that nature every night, when visions of his mum making Sunday supper in the kitchen would come to mind. Or memories his sisters playing senseless games in the back yard filled his head. Liam kissed his scalp again.

“I know,” his thumb traced Louis’ knuckles, “Soon, this war will be over soon.”

Louis scoffed and raised his cigarette to his lips, “You’ve been bloody saying that for over a year now,” he took a drag of his cigarette, “I don’t believe you.”

“You should,” Liam retorted, “Wars don’t last forever.”

“They can, though,” Louis insisted. Liam scoffed.

“I guess they can, yeah,” he whispered, “but if it wasn’t for this God awful war, we would have never met.” Louis flushed at that, his tummy flipping over in loops inside him.

They met at boot camp. Louis was a scrawny eighteen year old lad who had not once of muscle on him. But Britain dragged him into war because they needed the soldiers. Liam was just a hair younger than Louis, but acted so much wiser and mature. He had muscles on him and helped Louis through the training when things got too difficult for him. Liam had told Louis that he had no family, that his parents didn’t love him because he was different and he ran away when he was fourteen. At the time, Louis didn’t understand what he meant by that. But as time went on, he understood.

Louis had never really care for girls either way. He had little to no interest in them, much to his father’s dismay. Maybe he always knew that Louis didn’t like girls; maybe that was why he didn’t care much for him. But when Louis met Liam, when his eyes landed on that tanned muscular man, Louis was gone for him. It started out innocently with tiny touches and innocent flirting and notes they left for each other on their bunk beds. It wasn’t until the night before they were set to leave for the frontlines that Liam bravely kissed Louis behind the supper hall.

They were sorta inseparable ever since.

Louis stabbed his cigarette to the ground. He let Liam pull him into his lap and Louis fondly looked at the love of his life, his strong face glowing in the moonlight. Louis loved him, he loved Liam way more then he could ever explain. But he hadn’t told Liam that yet; he wanted them to both get out of the bloody war alive before he told Liam that. He wanted to know that he could have Liam for the rest of his life before saying that he loved him.

“I like to think that we would’ve met eventually,” he said, his fingers tracing Liam’s neck. Liam smiled dopily.

“Yeah?” Louis nodded and Liam pulled him closer somehow, “And how do you think we would have met, hm?”

Louis smiled, a blush creeped up his cheeks, “I dunno, like. Maybe at the market or something…” Liam out right laughed at that.

“Sure, you, the bloody son of the Lord of York, and me, a runaway with no money to his name, gazing into each other’s eyes over the crate of potatoes,” he snickered delightfully, “Don’t you rich folk have people to shop for you guys?” Louis huffed.

“It was just a daydream Liam,” he sneered, “Or maybe we would’ve met in the park. There’s a lovely park in York that has a garden and a stream in it. My family takes long walks in the park every Saturday afternoon. You’d love it, I’m sure.” Liam hummed.

“Ah, I like the sound of that idea much better,” he admitted and rubbed his nose against Louis’, “We’ll make it out of here, I promise. And we can meet again and again and again in whatever circumstance you want. As long as I have you Lou, I’m good. As long as I get to call you mine, I’ll die a happy man.”

Louis frowned and his hands smoothed out the front of Liam’s uniform, “Don’t talk about death.”

“It’s hard not to when it’s all around us.”

“Still, don’t talk about it.”

“Okay,” Liam caved and kissed Louis tenderly on the lips and neither spoke another word.

~~~

The trenches were like Hell.

Basically they were a serious of tunnels dug out in the Earth. The walls and floors were made up of mud and dirt. The walls stood over six feet tall in some parts, while other parts of the trenches barely made it to five foot ten inches. It was always crowded in the trenches, packed to the brim of terrified young men with rifles and grenades. When it rained, everything was sloppy and drenched and their uniforms would be soaked with rain and mud. To top it all off, the crazy Germens were constantly shooting at them. Bullets flew in the air around them, taking out soldiers one by one.  

Louis pulled back and took some bullets out of his pockets to reload his gun. Men were shouting things all around him and grenades were going off in the distance. The two medics in the trench who were assigned to bring bodies back to the medical tent, Officers Horan and Styles, walked past Louis with a stretcher carrying the body of a dead soldier. He knew the look of the dead solider, he’d seen it a hundred times.

Liam was a few soldiers away from Louis. Louis watched him as he shot at nothing, hoping in vain to shoot at a German who was slightly taller then the trenches. It rarely happened, Louis could count how many men he shot on one hand, but Liam was noble and heroically fought for his nation every day. He was one of the few soldiers that actually had hope. Liam had dirt on his face, his tan uniform drenched in sweat and mud but he was still the most beautiful man Louis had ever seen.

Louis loaded his gun when Liam turned around to load his. He glanced over to Louis and caught him staring at him. The bastard winked at Louis, as if they were both in a bar flirting from across the room instead of a fucking warzone. Louis cocked his gun and turned back around, ready to fire his weapon.

It happened so fast.

Maybe he moved too fast and a German saw him. Or maybe that bullet had Louis’ name on it and somehow flew in the air, missing millions of other targets, and was specially delivered to him.

Either way, Louis fell back on the ground with a bullet lodged in the side of his neck and blood pouring on the muddy ground.

“Lou!” Liam’s voice was so clear above the noise, so crystal clear. A second later, Liam was kneeling beside Louis. Liam looked scared and Louis hazily thought that this was the first time he saw Liam Payne scared. Liam lifted Louis’ head off from the ground and onto his lap, “Shite, Shite! Medics! Fuck, medics!”

Louis wanted to speak, he wanted to tell Liam that it was okay, maybe it was even for the best. But he couldn’t; the pain was so much and he felt so light headed. He saw with wide eyes that his blood was getting on Liam’s uniform and he wanted to say he was sorry. Sorry for the blood, sorry for not being strong enough, sorry for not making it out of this dreaded war alive so that they could be together.

“You’re okay Lou, you hear me? You’re fine, y-you’re gonna be just fine, okay? Just-” And that was another thing her hadn’t seen Liam do before, cry. But Liam was openly _weeping_ , his hand pressed to Louis’ wound in vain hopes to keep him alive. Louis felt like he was drifting away, his vision became blurring. But if the last thing he saw was Liam Payne’s gorgeous face, he’d be okay with that, honestly, “Shite, no Lou. Don’t go, please! Horan and Styles are here to take you away now, okay? Just, shite, you can’t go, you got it? You can’t leave me.”

Louis weakly lifted his hand and grabbed Liam’s shirt and tugged on it lightly. Liam followed direction and leaned down over Louis, their chests pressed together. Louis panted in Liam’s hear weakly, the words on the tip of his tongue but he had little strength to speak them. He drew in a breath, maybe one of the last breaths he would ever take and forced himself to say those words.

“I-I lo-ve y-you,” he weakly mumbled and prayed to God that Liam heard him. Liam lifted his head away from Louis’. He looked so sad, yet his eyes were full of fond. Louis smiled weakly up at him before closing his eyes.

~~~

Louis felt a hand on his forehead. He groaned and fluttered his eyes open. Louis blinked a few times and noticed his surroundings. He wasn’t in the trenches, or even in Heaven. He was in the hospital back on base-he’d been there plenty of times before to visit other wounded soldiers from his unit. He was laying on a bed shirtless with an IV in his arm. There were dividers placed around his bed to give him some privacy.

And Liam was sitting in the chair beside his bed, sleeping quietly. He looked so tired and Louis wondered how long he had been sitting there.

“L-Li?” Louis spoke up, disturbing the silence. Liam woke with alertness at the sound of his name. He smiled softly and knelt beside the bed. Liam reached out and took his hand.

“Hey handsome,” Liam whispered. Louis giggled weakly, but his chest hurt like Hell. He wanted to look down at his chest, but Liam stopped him, “Don’t move your neck, love. You got shot there, remember?” Louis nodded once stiffly, “They had to operate on ya, to take the bullet out. You got like thirty stitches there.”

Louis’ eyes went wide, “Wow…” Liam petted his hair and smiled. He leaned in closely, their lips always touching.

“But you’re alive,” he mumbled happily. Louis smirked into Liam’s lips.

“Yeah,” Louis sighed once their brisk kiss was done, “I’m all patched up and ready to go back in that bloody trench,” he laughed weakly, but Liam’s face hardened. Louis frowned, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Liam sighed and put on a fake smile, “You’re going home, Lou.” Louis’ heart plummeted to his stomach.

“W-What?” he stuttered. Liam’s lips were trembling as he explained.

“You were injured serving your country Lou,” he said, “as soon as the doc here says you’re safe to travel, you get to go home and are dismissed of your duties with full honors.”

Louis shook his head weakly, his eye full of tears, “B-But what about y-you?” Liam smiled sadly.

“I’m fit as a fiddle, Lou. I have to stay here and fight,” Louis shook his head.

“No, n-no,” he complained weakly as tears poured from his eyes, “Y-You can’t stay here.”

Liam shrugged, “I’ve got to, it’s how this all works, remember?” Louis whimpered and Liam sighed, “Oh darling, please don’t be sad. You know me, I’ll be okay.” Louis shook his head.

“B-But I won’t be because I-I won’t be w-with you,” he wailed softly. Liam pursed his lips.

“Budge up, love,” he told Louis sweetly. Louis moved over and Liam climbed in the bed. Louis rested his head in Liam’s chest and if he just closed his eyes he was home. Liam Payne was home, not York or anywhere else in Britain. Louis had whined so much about wanting to go home, when home was with him all this time. Liam kissed his head, “I’m so happy you get to go home Louis. I thought-I thought I was gonna lose you there.”

Louis sniffled, “Me too.” Liam smiled and kissed his lips gingerly.

“I can handle not being with you if I know you’re alive somewhere,” he told Louis, “I want you to know that I will be fine here and I’ll fight every day so I can find you again, okay? We’ll get to write our story once again, this time on our terms okay? No wars, just us.” Louis smiled sadly.

“The world won’t accept us.”

“Fuck the world then,” Liam declared, “I don’t give a shite what anyone else thinks about me except you and you love me.” Louis smiled weakly and he felt like he was floating.

“I do love you,” he confirmed. Liam smiled so brightly at that and he lifted Louis’ hand to kiss his palm.

“And I love you so bloody much, Louis Tomlinson,” Liam confessed with a smile. Louis smiled dopily and kissed Liam fiercely, “We’ll find our way back to each other, I promise.”

Liam liked making promises that Louis didn’t know if he could keep.

But he still believed them and held onto them with all his might.

~~~

_York, England. 1918._

The war ended, it actually ended. And Britain won the war.

It was November when the war came to an end with Germany’s surrender and all Louis could think about was the man he met in boot camp with the soft brown eyes.

Liam and Louis wrote each other for a bit after Louis was sent home. Louis sent him British sweets that Liam craved and Liam sent him the loveliest poems and Louis held onto those letters like they were his life vessel because really, they were.

But once 1918 came along, the letters came less and less often. Months drifted by without Louis hearing a single word from his beloved. He thought the worst, of course he did, and worried himself sick. Images of the trenches would take over his thoughts and he’d picture Liam’s body mangled and dead in the dirt and he’d end up puking in the kitchen sick.

His mother worried for him, and begged Louis to tell him what was wrong. But Louis couldn’t bloody tell his mother that he was in love with a man and he was scared to death that he was dead. So he worried in silence and didn’t dare tell a soul.

It had been four months since Louis had heard from Liam.

It was a Saturday, a lovely Saturday which were rare in November in the U.K. His mother dragged him out of bed and made him go on a walk with the rest of his siblings in the park. Louis didn’t wish to go, the war had been over for nearly two weeks and he still hadn’t heard anything from Liam, not even a telegram. But he dressed up in his informal slacks and buttoned up his pea coat. He put on his newsboy hat and helped his younger sisters with their coats and scarfs before they left their manner and strolled down the cobble pathways to the beloved park.

The park was empty beside the Tomlinson clan. His younger twin sisters ran off to chase each other around. Charlotte , the sister that came after him, brought her knitting kit and continued to knit the scarf she was working on for papa for his Christmas present. She sat on a bench with the next Tomlinson sister, Felicite, who was nose deep in a Charles Dickinson novel. Louis’ mother, kept a watchful eye on the twins and Louis drifted away towards the stream tucked behind a thick row of trees. Perfect, he was alone once more. He found a smooth rock by the stream and threw it carelessly in the stream. As the water rippled, Louis fought back the urge to cry.

“A-hem” a voice spoke up from behind him. Louis perked up, his heart thumping in his chest. He turned around slowly. The man standing there had messy stubble on his cheeks and jaw. His eyes were tired, but they were so bright and lively. He smiled and that-Louis knew that smile anywhere. Louis gasped, tears fresh in his eyes. The man smirked, his own smile shaking, “I don’t believe we’ve met. But I saw you and I just could not just not introduce myself,” he stuck his hand out, “I’m Liam, Liam Payne.”

Louis huffed, “Sod off,” he sneered weakly. Liam laughed heartedly as Louis ran the three steps between them and tackled Liam with a massive hug. Liam curled himself around Louis and Liam smelled of clean soap and home.

“Hey, darling,” Liam whispered. Louis drew back and kissed Liam fiercely. He didn’t care if anyone saw him, let them watch and see two young men madly in love with each other. Louis didn’t car if they saw two men who were meant to be together reunited after so long.

Louis detached his lips from Liam’s, tears traveling down his cheeks freely, “You’re home,” he said unbelievingly. He shook his head and hugged Liam again. The other man stroked his back and swayed slightly in the hug.

“Yeah, he breathed out and hugged Louis harder. He nuzzled his face against Louis’ and whispered, “I’m home.”  

**Author's Note:**

> So....yeah, angst and cuteness-yay!  
> Thank you so much for reading this!  
> ***PLEASE GIVE ME KUDOS AND NICE COMMENTS!***  
> Also, let me know in the comments if you want me to write a second part to this!  
> Take care :)


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